Managing Contingency Days in a Construction Schedule

Here’s a question most schedulers never ask: What are your contingency days actually worth?

Contractors add contingencies to activity durations all the time. Some contracts require it. But those contingencies represent real value — time that could be traded, sold or protected depending on how you manage them.

So here’s the bigger question: Would project stakeholders pay a premium to purchase those contingencies? Should they?

In this PMCOS session, we’re opening up a discussion that challenges how we think about schedule contingencies — not as buffer, but as strategic assets with quantifiable value.

Led by Gunnar Lucko, Ph.D., M.ASCE, professor of civil engineering at the Catholic University of America, this session explores the intersection of scheduling, contract strategy and risk management in ways most schedulers haven’t considered.

What You’ll Explore:

• How contingencies are typically embedded in construction schedules
• The financial and strategic value of schedule contingencies
• Whether contingencies should be treated as negotiable or purchasable assets
• Contract structures that require or restrict contingency management
• Best practices for quantifying and protecting contingency value

Who Should Attend:

Schedulers • Project Managers • Contract Administrators • Risk Managers • Project Controls Professionals • Owners’ Representatives • Cost Estimators

Stop treating contingencies like padding. Start managing them like the strategic assets they are.